Methods for making hose couplings



Sept- 23, 1958 v w. w. BALLARD :TAL 2,852,841

METHODS FOR MAKING HOSE COUPLINGS Original Filed Feb. 23, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 11' OVO "1.1 :z' 3 ze ate 090% *.*g

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ATTORNEYS w. w. BALLARD ETAL 2,852,841 METHODS FOR MAKING HOSE coUPLINGs Sept. 23, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Feb. 23, 1954 L INVENTORS WALTER W. BALLARD LEWEN R. NELSON BY 6M, Wav/' ATTORNEYS Unid States lPatent 2,852,841 METHODS FOR MAKING HOSE COUPLINGS Walter W. Ballard and Lewen R. Nelson, Peoria, Ill.

Original application February 23, 1954, Serial No. 411,923, now Patent No. 2,798,745, dated July 9, 1957. Divided and this application June 7, 1955, Serial No. 513,802 i 4 Claims. (Cl. 25h-:508)

.as joined by the coupling, or they may be joined in parp :allel yside-by-side relation to form an integral unit of the `general type typiiedby the disclosure of United States Patent 2,621,075, issued December 9, 1952, to W. Sedar.

Such hoses are usually manufactured from rubber, synthetic rubber, or synthetic resinous materials by extru- .2,852,841 Patented Sept. 23, 1953 Referring now to the drawings in detail, Figs. 1-3 illustrate a typical hose coupling which may be produced by the present method. This coupling comprises a conventional circular coupling nut 10 which is' interiorly threaded at 11 and provided at Vone end with an inturned flange 12. A ferrule 13 is employed, this ferrule including a base portion 14 of circular cross-section joined to the lcoupling nut 10 by means of an annular inwardly directed groove 15 providing an end flange engaged behind the flange 12 of the coupling nut. The usual compressible sealing washer 16 is provided within the coupling nut 12 to engage the end ange of the ferrule.

While the cross-section of the ferrule 13 is circular at the base of the ferrule, the tip or free end 17 of the ferrule is of generally oblong cross-section, corresponding to the shape of the hose. The tip portion 17 extends for a material part of the length of the ferrule 13 and is provided with two diametrically opposed longitudinally extending indentations or depressions 19 dividing the tip portion 17 into two parallel sections 20 and 21 of generally circular cross-section.

The-hose 18 comprises two tubes of circular crosssection joined si-de-by-side, each tube having its end situated in a dilierent one of the sections 20 and 21 of the tip portion 17 of the ferrule. As best seen in Fig. 3, there is positioned in the end of each tube of the hose 18 a rigid, tubular, tapered insert 22, the inserts being sion or like methods so that the material of the hose is i compressible. As disclosed in the patent above referred to, multiple tube hoses are usually provided with spaced radially extending apertures and nd extensive use for 4irrigation without involving additional spraying elements.

The method of the invention provides a novel form ofconnector for hose assemblies of this type which allows lthe multiple tube `hose assembly to be connected to a conventional silcock cr other threaded deviceof circular cross-section. Thus, the couplings produced by the present invention provi-de a transition between the` circular cross-section oi' the usual supply pipe and the generally oblong cross-section of the multiple tube hose assembly. A particular advantage of the invention is the provision of a particularly ete-ctive method for forming coupling structures of the type referred to lwhich clamp the conduit ends of the hose assembly under compression in suchA manner that the compressible material `thereof is securely held against displacement when the hose assembly and coupling arefin use. In order that the invention `may be understood in detail, reference isfhad to the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specilication and wherein: p

. Fig. r1 is an elevational Views of a typical coupling structure which may be produced by the method of the present invention; p

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2,-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 3--3, Fig. 1;

Figs. 4 and `4a are elevational views of typical inserts employed in the construction shown in Fig. l;

` Fig. 5` is a `:fragmentary longitudinal sectional view,

similar to Fig. 3, showing a modified construction which maybe produced by the present method.

coupling in accordance with the invention.

situated with their smaller ends inwardly of the hose. The inserts 22 have an outer diameter somewhat greater than the normal inner diameter of the tubes of the hose 18, the inserts being exteriorly threaded and arranged with their threads embeddedin the compressible material of the hose. It will be noted that the tip` portion 17 of the ferrule 13 tapers :from a larger cross-section in the body of the ferrule to a smaller cross-section at the free end of the ferrule. Similarly, the diametrically opposed longitudinally extending depressions 19 are deeper at the free end of the ferrule than they are in the body of the ferrule, so that the sections 20 and 21 are of tapered shape conforming to the shape of the inserts 22. The parallel sections 20 and ,21 of the ferrule and the tapered inserts 22 thus provide opposed clamping surfaces between which the material of the hose is secured under compression. The inserts 22 are `preferably provided with slots 23 to be engaged by a screwdriver or like tool for removal of the inserts, in order that the couplings may be removed from the hose by the purchaser if desired.

While the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1-3 employs a ferrule and a coupling nut initially formed as separate units and later joined together, the invention is equally adaptable to construction, as in Figs. 78a, wherein the threaded coupling member 110, a male coupling in this instance, and the ferrule 113 are fabricated from a single tubular sheet metal work-piece. In both cases, the ferrule portion tapers from a base portion of the circular cross-section to a tip portion of generally oblong cross-section.

In general, coupling structures are produced in accordance with the method of the invention by providing a cylindrical ferrule piece, preliminarily flattening one end portion of the ferrule piece to form a tip portion of generally oblong cross-section, Iwhich iiattened portion eX- tends for a material part of the length of the ferrule piece, and nally forming the tip portion into a plurality of parallel longitudinally extending generally truste-conical sections each adapted to embrace the end of one tubular conduit of the hose assembly.

Thus, in producing a one-piece unit of the type seen in Figs. 6-89, one may start with a tubular work piece 100, Fig. 6, including a coupling portion 110, of smaller diameter, and a ferrule portion 113 of larger diameter. Such a work piece may beproduced by forming a cupshaped sheet metal blank, or by reducing in a die one end of a cylindrical tubular blank.

The work piece is then upset to providean outwardly directly transverse annular flange lill. lsituated between the 'coupling portion and thefferrule portion and Iconstituting the sole'means-,for joining saidp'ortionsonetto the other. Threadsare then rolled on Ithe couplingpportion 110 as seen in Fig. 7, in 'this instanceproviding-a male coupler for engagement with a' coupling nut such as the nut 10, Fig. 3.

The free end of the ferrule portion 113 isl then 4Spreliminarily attened toprovide a tip portion 117 ofjgenerally oblong cross-section, assecn inFigs. 7 and 7a, such tip portion feXtend-ing for a major part of the length of the ferrule. f This preliminarlly flattened tip portion is Ythen secured to the end of the hose'assembly as will be described with reference to Figs. 9-l l.

Instead of preliminarily llattening the free end of the ferrule portion 113 to the simple oblong cross-section seen in Figs. 7 and 7a, the preliminary flattening step may provide 'a plurality of llongitudinally ex-tending depressions 119 arranged in diametrically opposed pairs as seen in Figs. 8 andS. The depressions 119 divide the tip` of the ferrule portioniinto a plurality of vparallel sections of partially circular cross-section to receive the ends of the conduits of the hose assembly preparatory lto final shaping of the sections into clamping relation 4with the hose in which the sections approach more closely a completely circular cross-sectionto apply radial pressure to the hose material subs-tantially uniformly around the cylindrical inserts. At this stage, `the major surfaces of the tip portion of the ferrule have a regular hill-and-valfey configuration as seen in Fig. 8a for a 3-tube ho-se, and in Fig. 1, for a Z-tube hose. In each case, the parallel sections ofthe ferrule -tip portion are generally cylindrical and substantially untapered, as is readily apparent in Fig. 8 and from the dotted lines in Fig. l. Y It is preferred thatthe preliminary liattened tip portion be of Suchdimension that the endof the hose to which the coupling is to be attached will iit snugly therein, withithe end of each tube of the hose situated in a different one of said parallel sections.

It`willbe obviousthat the female coupling .of Figs. 1-3 smay be produced by the method .just outlined, the only variation required being the formation of groove 15, Fig. 3, to secure the coupling nut 19, rather than forming the-flange 101 and lthe male couplingv portion 110, Figs. 6-8.` The final Yshaping operation performed on the ferrule tip portion 17 and 117 may bethe same, regardless of whetherl or not the coupling portion is made 'from the same work piece as the ferrule portion.

The preliminarily shaped'ferrule is no-w fixed to the hose end in accordance with the methodl illustrated in Figs. 9-11. The rigid, tapered, tubular inserts, which may be of the type seenrin Fig. 4 or Fig. 41, are inserted small end inwardly each in a different one of the tubes of the hose 113. The end of the hose containing the inserts is then positioned within the free end lportion f the preliminarily flattened ferrule.

The loose assembly is then positioned in a stationary split die 129 having tapered concavities 13u, 131-and 132 corresponding in shape tothe tapered inserts in the hose end. Since at the start of this operation theferrule tip portion is still untapered, the tip of the ferrule can enter only part way into the die ycavity before engaging lthe tapered surfaces thereof, as clearly seen in Fig. 9.

To effect relative movement between the die `and the Vferrule, there is employed a push-rod 135 having a shoulferrule is fixed. As indicated in Fig. 9, the hose end is preferably held sufficiently far Within the ferrule that the smaller ends of the inserts are spaced inwardly somo what relative to the free end of the ferrule. 'il e pushrod 133 is now moved toward the die 129, forcing the tip portion of the ferrulefullyinto the die cavity, so that the parallelsections of the ferrule tip portion are drawn to the-same shapes as the inserts and the hose end is securely clamped V'between .theferrule wall and the inserts, thisiaction being illustrated by Fig. 1l. The split die 129 is then opened and the comple-ted assembly removed therefrom.

A"l`heworking'cavity of'the 'die 129 is preferably `terminated by an abrupt ridge 136 to shape the extreme tip edge of the ferrule intothe inturnedange 25, Fig, 5.

It will be understood that, when the die 129 is completely closed and the coupling assembly has been forced fully into thedie, .asseenin Fig. ,11, the cross-sectional area ofthe .spacezbetween the inserts and-the walls of .the .die cavity is smallerthan the combined cross-section of the hose walls and ferrule, so that these cannot be accommodated without a marked compression of the material of the hose against the support afforded by the rigid inserts. Accordingly, forcing the coupling assembly fully into the die cavityresults in simultaneous shaping of theferrule to nal form and compression of the hose material to produce a sealed joint.

v`Referring particularlyto, Fig. l0, it will be seen that the hose118 is so constructed that there is an excess of compressible material, between adjacent tubes, in the sense 'that the mass of material between the tubes is markedly thicker` than the normal walls of thehose. It has been found that the presence of this excess of compressible materialaids very materially the clampingaction resulting when the hose assembly is forced fully within the .die 1,29. `The tip or deeper portions of the longitudinal .depressions formed in the ferrule by contact with the die project'deep into this relatively thicker mass of hose Ymaterial,v causing considerable ow of the excess material during the clamping action, that is, during the `nal shap- -ing of the ferrule as illustrated in Fig. ll.

For purposes of simplicity, the method stepsof Figs. 9-11 `have beenV illustrated and described with reference toan' integral multiple tube hose assembly. "The method vis also applicable to hose assemblies including a plurality ofseparate tubular conduits held in assembled relation by thecoupling. Thus, the method of the presentin- `verltion is' particularly well adapted to production of Isprinkler assemblies of the ltypedescribed, and claimed in' copending application Serial Number 4l9,687jiiled March 30, l1954, by Lewen R. Nelson.

We claim: i

l. A method for. coupling a hose assembly fabricated fromcompressiblematerial and comprising a plurality of tubular conduits arranged side-by-side to a coupling member having a single fluid-conducting bore, comprising the steps of providing a generally cylindricalsheet metal member, forming one end of said sheet metal member for connection to a coupling member of circular cross-section, preliminarily flattening the other end portion of said sheet metal member to provide a ferrule portion of generally oblong cross-section of such size as will embrace an end of such hose assembly, vinserting a rigid, tapered, tubular insert in the end of eachconduit of the hose assembly withthe smaller ends of the 'inserts inwardly of the conduit, positioning the endof the hose assembly containing said inserts within said fferrule portion, providing a tapered diecavity in the ferrule portion and said conduit ends, until said ferrule portion is iinally shaped to conform to the shape of said insert and the hose assembly is clamped between said ferrule portion and said inserts.

2. A method for manufacturing a combined multipletube hose and coupling unit for coupling such hose to a coupling member having a single fluid-conducting bore, comprising the steps of providing a generally cylindrical sheet metal member having one end portion of smaller diameter and the other end portion of larger diameter, threading said end portion of smaller diameter for engagement with a threaded coupling member of circular cross-section, preliminarily flattening said end portion of larger diameter to provide a ferrule portion of generally oblong cross-section of such size as will embrace an end of the multiple-tube hose assembly, inserting a rigid, tapered, tubular insert in the end of each conduit of the hose assembly with the smaller ends of the inserts inwardly of the conduit, positioning the end of the hose assembly containing said inserts within said ferr-ule portion, providing a tapered die cavity in the form of a plurality of generally parallel sections each conforming to the shape of one of said inserts, placing said ferrule portion, with the end of the hose disposed therein, in said die cavity with said inserts and said die cavity sections tapering in the same direction, and forcing said ferrule portion into said die cavity, while restricting relative longitudinal movement between said ferrule portion and said conduit ends, until said ferrule portion is iinally shaped to conform to the shape of said insert and the hose assembly is clamped between said ferrule portion and said inserts.

3. A method for manufacturing a combined multipletube hose and coupling unit for coupling such hose to a coupling member having a single fluid-conducting bore, comprising providing an integral multiple-tube hose assembly fabricated from compressible material and comprising a plurality of parallel tubular conduits joined together in side-'by-side relation by elongated masses of hose material material thicker than the walls of said tube, providing a generally cylindrical sheet metal member, forming one end of said sheet metal member for connection to a coupling member 0f circular cross-section, preliminarily flattening the other end portion of said sheet metal member to provide a ferrule portion of generally oblong cross-section of such size as will embrace an end of said hose assembly, inserting a rigid, tapered tubular insert in the end of each tube of the hose assembly with the smaller ends of the inserts inwardly of the hose, positioning the end of the hose assembly containing said inserts within said ferrule portion, providing a tapered die cavity in the form of a plurality of generally parallel sections each conforming to the shape of one of said inserts, adjacent one of said generally parallel sections joining each other in an inwardly directed ridge, placing said ferrule portion,

with the end of the hose disposed therein, in said die cavity with said inserts and said die cavity sections tapering in the same direction, and effecting relative axial movement between said die cavity said ferrule portion, while restricting relative axial movement between said ferrule portion and said tube ends, to force said ferrule portion into said die cavity and finally shape said ferrule portion to conform to said inserts, such relative longitudinal movement being continued until the crosssectional area between said inserts and said die cavity is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the hose, whereby the end of the hose is clamped in fluid-tight relation between said inserts and said fen-ule portion with parallel-longitudinally extending areas of said ferrule portion `being embedded in said masses of hose material between said inserts.

4. A method for coupling a hose assembly fabricated from compressible material and comprising a plurality of tubular conduits arranged side-by-side to a coupling member having a single Huid-conducting bore, comprising the steps of providing a generally cylindrical sheet metal member, forming one end of said sheet metal member for connection to a coupling member of circular cross-section, preliminarily ilattening the other end portion of said sheet metal member to provide a ferrule portion of generally oblong cross-section of such size as will embrace an end of such hose assembly, inserting a rigid, tapered, tubular insert in the end of each conduit of the hose assembly with the smaller ends of the inserts inwardly of the conduit, positioning the end of the hose assembly containing said inserts within said ferrule portion, providing a tapered die cavity in the form of a plurality of generally parallel sections each conforming to the shape of one of said inserts, placing said ferrule portion, with the end 0f the: hose disposed therein, in said die cavity with said inserts and said die cavity sections tapering in the same direction, and forcing said ferrule portion into said die cavity, while restricting relative longitudinal movement between said ferrule portion and said conduit ends, until said ferrule portion is iinally shaped to conform to the shape of said insert and the hose assembly is clamped between said ferrule portion and said inserts, said restricting of movement between said ferrule portion and said conduit ends being accomplished by exercising thrust against the outer end of said ferrule portion while concurrently exercising thrust against each of said tubular inserts.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,830,229 Gray Nov. 3, 1931 2,158,538 Gish May 16, 1939 2,333,349 Weatherhead Nov. 2, 1943 2,43 0,921 Edelmann Nov. 18, 1947 2,739,842 Andrews Mar. 27, 1956 UNITED STATT@ PATENT QTTTCT CERTIFICATE 0F CURRECTlON Patent Nm. 852,841 sepmber 23!9 1958 Walter W Ballard et al.,

Column 5, line 40, for' "matralf'g sond Oecumene@ read materially 1gb; column 6, lin@ after "cavity" insert and m5 Signed and sealed this 9th day of December 1958a SEAL) ttest:

KARL H; AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSGN Attesting Officer Commissionr of Patents 

